Madam Hydra's That Which Lingers
Part Twenty: Transformations [A]
This story is set in my own ALTERNATE REALITY Rurouni Kenshin universe, which I've called "The Nightwitch Tales" -- think of it as Rurouni Kenshin mixed with various supernatural and paranormal elements. Other stories in this alternate reality are: "Night Visitor"; "All in the Family"; and "Romancing the Wolf."
It takes place after the end of the Kyoto story arc. After that, all bets are off. Elements of the Revenge story arc may show up in the story.
WARNING: This story is "semi-dark" -- it has dark elements (violence, profanity, etc.) but it's not a darkfic! Actually, there's quite a bit of romance in it.... ^_-
As always, C&C is greatly appreciated! ^_^
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Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shuiesha, Sony Music Entertainment, and associated parties. The characters of these series are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. Original portion of the fiction included here is considered to be the sole property and copyrighted to the author.
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Text Conventions:
( ) are character thoughts
/ / and // // represent various sorts of mental dialogue
* ----- * ----- * marks the start/end of dreams or flashbacks
[ ] denote visual or time notes
[ Kyoto, mid-August, 1878 (11th year of the Meiji period) ]
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About a half an hour before Aoshi's horrified discovery, Misao was wandering around an unfamiliar area frantically searching for any trace of him.
One minute, they had been walking side by side along the shadowy forest path... the next instant, a thick, cold mist had rolled across the pathway, obscuring everything.
As the mist gradually thinned, Misao peered around wildly as she realized that Aoshi was nowhere in sight. She fought down the urge to run around shouting his name.
(Damn it, girl. You're a ninja. Stealth, secrecy, and all that stuff. Keep it quiet. You've been alone in the woods by yourself before.)
But there was something strange about these forests... something uncanny.
She paused a moment, listening hard for any trace of sound. Nothing. Then again, she was looking for Aoshi. Of course, he wouldn't make any noise.
Misao scowled. (Great. How do two expert ninjas find each other in a great big forest?) She suddenly grinned, then whistled the low, haunting call of a forest bird. The little trill at the end would tell an Oniwabanshuu that another member was in the area. She listened
intently, but heard no response.
"What a charming sound."
Misao jumped, then whirled around to see a slim female figure emerging from the shadows. The ninja girl had no trouble recognizing her.
&bnsp; "KAORU!?"
Misao then caught sight of the hideously familiar sword hanging over Kaoru's shoulder. In a sick voice, she whispered, "Kinslayer."
"Ah, I see that you've discovered the name of my sword."
&bnsp; The ninja girl glared at Kaoru and said, "You're Minobe Junichi, aren't you? What have you done with Kaoru!?"
"I really think that you have more important things to worry about."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Shinomori, for example."
Misao clenched her fists and hissed, "What have you done to Aoshi!?"
"Oh, it's just 'Aoshi' now, is it? No more 'Aoshi-sama'? Just what have you been up to, little girl?" Junichi shrugged Kaoru's shoulders and said, "At this very moment, he's probably fighting for his life... and losing."
"You're lying! He can't lose! He's better than anything you can throw at him!"
"That might be true IF he was in peak condition. As you should well know, he hasn't been feeling his best recently."
"Where is he!?" Misao whipped her head back and forth, searching for any sign of Aoshi, but she saw and heard nothing. "Damn you, Minobe! Where IS he!?"
A mocking smile appeared on Kaoru's lips. "And even if I did tell you where he is, what could you do? If Shinomori can't handle my creatures, what makes you think that a half-trained ninja like yourself can? And you with a broken arm, too."
Misao growled, practically speechless with rage. But inside, she had the sickening feeling that Minobe Junichi was right. What could she do? She shook her head furiously and shouted, "Shut up! Just shut up!"
"You know I'm right. Face it, you're just not good enough," Junichi said, his voice -- or rather, Kaoru's voice -- dripping with malice.
Misao tensed as Kaoru unsheathed Kinslayer, but instead of attacking the ninja girl, Kaoru simply held the blade by her side and made no threatening motions.
Simmering with fury, Misao growled, "So, what do you want from me?"
"I'm here to give you the chance to save your precious Aoshi-sama's life. It's a very simple deal. I'll spare his life for a little of your blood."
Misao blinked, then spat out, "If you want my blood so badly, why don't you just take it!? A half-trained ninja girl should hardly be any trouble for a 'great' swordsman like yourself!"
Junichi shrugged carelessly. "I'm not in the mood to go chasing you around. Just give me some of your blood and Shinomori lives." Kaoru lifted the blade and extended it, the sharp tip of the blade hovered just a few feet away from Misao.
(It's a trick! It has to be! If Junichi went through all this trouble to separate and ambush the two of us, he can't be willing to just let either of us go in exchange for a little blood from me! But... but if I don't do it, Aoshi could die!)
Misao was half-reaching for the sword tip when she abruptly remember
Takagi Asuko's warning from the night before.
&Nbsp; (Asuko specifically warned me that Kinslayer has power over the people it injures through their blood! That must be how it possessed Kaoru without her even touching the blade. And that's how it hurt Aoshi back at the clinic! Somehow, after tasting their blood, it now has the power to control them! Oh my god! If Kinslayer can do THOSE things to people whose blood it takes without their consent, what can it do to someone who surrenders their blood voluntarily!?)
Misao immediately snatched her hand back and hastily retreated.
Junichi said impatiently, "Don't waste time, you stupid girl. The longer you wait, the more likely that Shinomori will die a slow and painful death."
In a low, anger-choked voice, Misao said, "You bastard! You had no intention of letting either Aoshi or me go! You were planning to trick me into voluntarily offering my blood to Kinslayer so you could make me into another one of your puppets! Is that it? And what were you going to force me to do once I was under your control!?"
An angry scowl flashed across Kaoru's face. Junichi snarled, "You're too damn clever for your own good, girl. You're quite right. Since Kamiya didn't consent to having her blood drawn by Kinslayer, I can only go so far with her. You, on the other hand.... I could do a lot more with you."
Misao shuddered as she saw the cruel smile that distorted Kaoru's face.
Junichi continued, "Your knowledge changes nothing. The deal still stands. Surrender yourself to me or Shinomori dies!"
Misao again slowly lifted her hand toward Kinslayer, then a memory
flashed through her mind....
* ----- * ----- *
A clearing just outside of Tokyo. While his life's blood slowly soaks into the rich soil of the forest, Aoshi smiles at her... REALLY smiles at her as he whispers, "Misao... you're... back...."
* ----- * ----- *
And another, much more recent memory....
Misao thought, (He told me, 'Don't let that cursed sword win after all you've been through. Don't allow despair to destroy what you are.' Aoshi risked his life to free me from Kinslayer's spell. He risked his life to bring me back to myself... to the person that he and all my friends care about.)
And somewhere deep in herself, Misao found the strength... not the strength to cling blindly, but the strength to accept the decisions and choices of others despite the cost to herself.
She felt a terrible ache in her chest, almost as if her heart was ripping in two. Perhaps it was as she slowly lowered her hand for the last time. With her head hanging low, Misao spoke in a shaky, but utterly determined voice.
"No. I refuse your devil's bargain."
Junichi looked startled, then snarled viciously, "So, you DON'T care enough about him to...."
Misao lifted her head and stared directly into Junichi's eyes. Tears slowly ran down her cheeks as she said, "I love him, more than you can possibly understand. Aoshi fought and risked his life to free me from the spell of hatred and rage that consumed me."
Her blue eyes glittered with fury as she continued, "If I simply give in and surrender to Kinslayer's power without even a struggle, I dishonor him. It cheapens all the pain he's suffered, all the blood he's shed, and all the sacrifices he's made."
Misao's body trembled, then she screamed, "I WILL NOT PERMIT THAT TO HAPPEN!!!" She gasped for air before adding in a frighteningly even voice, "He is Shinomori Aoshi, the Okashira of the Oniwabanshuu, and the man I love. I will not squander the gift he has chosen to give me at such a great cost to himself."
Junichi stared at her, momentarily stunned. From the confused expression on Kaoru's face, it was as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
She tossed her head defiantly. "So, Junichi. You can have my blood, if you want it so badly, but only by force. Believe me when I tell you that I won't make it easy for you." She tensed, ready for action.
"I... see." Junichi shook Kaoru's head in frustration, apparently unable to believe that he had misjudged her so badly. He snapped Kaoru's fingers and a pack of low, squat shapes collected at her feet.
"Very well, then I have no use for you."
The hairless, pale beasts were an incredibly ugly cross between a pig and a dog -- heavily muscled, with massive claws on their short legs and gaping mouths full of long, vicious tusks.
It was easy for Misao to guess Junichi's intentions. One look at the pack of beasts and she took off without waiting for Junichi to finish his threats. Several seconds passed before he recovered from his surprise and set the monsters on her trail.
The shrubs and small branches left long, red welts all over Misao's body and face as she ran for her life. The short-legged creatures crashed through the undergrowth after her with a surprising turn of speed, but she had not been idly boasting about her foot speed when she had first encountered Himura Kenshin on the road to Kyoto. She managed to stay ahead of the pack, but not by much. If the monsters managed to catch her, she was as good as dead. With her broken arm, she knew that she had no chance of fending them off.
She burst out into a clear area, only realizing too late that there was a deep stream bed just over the slight rise. Her left foot landed on empty air and she flailed wildly as she tumbled into the gully. The heavy impact of the fall drove the breath from her lungs. It took her
several precious seconds before she managed to regain her wits. She turned over only to see several of the beasts perched at the upper edge of the gully, preparing to pounce down on her. Misao frantically rolled aside at the very last second and felt the ground shake as one of the
pig-dogs just missed stomping on her head.
She leapt to her feet, only to scream as her head was brutally wrenched backward by her braid. For a terrified second, she thought her neck was about to snap. Misao twisted aside in a frantic attempt to avoid the monster's raking claws as she tried to pull herself free, but the beast's grip on her hair was too tight. Without a second thought, her right hand drew Asuko's tanto and slashed. The razor sharp blade sheared effortlessly through her thick hair. In the process, Misao actually nicked her own ear in her desperate hurry to free herself. She then lashed out with a vicious kick that sent the first monster crashing into the other members of the pack. As the creatures struggled to sort themselves out, Misao scrambled up the opposite side of the gully and dashed into the forest.
Junichi burst into the clearing just in time to see Misao disappearing from view while his monsters squealed furiously at each other.
"You fools! Get moving! I want her head...! Wait!" Junichi snatched the long braid of black hair from one of the pig-dogs, then slowly smiled as another, even better scheme suddenly popped into his mind. He chuckled ominously.
Fondling the heavy, silky braid now in Kaoru's hands, Junichi kicked the monsters on their way. After warning them not to return until they killed Misao in the most painful way possible, Junichi headed back in the direction from whence he came.
Back to Shinomori Aoshi.
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After being an unwilling witness to Junichi's brutal deception using Misao's braid, Kaoru ranted and raved, but to absolutely no effect.
(Junichi, what kind of monster are you!!! How could you do such a thing to another human being!?)
Junichi totally ignored her, like he always did.
She shuddered. By the gods, the sheer, calculated cruelty of it.... She would never forget the look on Aoshi's face when he recognized what she had been holding in her hand.
(I was so wrong to consider him cold and unfeeling. If he didn't care... no, if he didn't LOVE Misao, he never would have reacted the way he did.)
She wanted to shout that it was a lie, a great big lie, but even if she could have said the words aloud, she was afraid that Aoshi wouldn't have heard her. By that time, he had long since disappeared into some personal hell of his own. No doubt with ample assistance from Junichi -- or rather, from Kinslayer.
With seething bitterness, Kaoru hissed, (DAMN you, Junichi, for your damned mind games!)
She abruptly froze as she sensed the stirring of that mysterious second presence contained within the sword.
(I'm such an idiot! What happened to Aoshi.... Junichi couldn't POSSIBLY have thought up something so... so perfectly CRUEL. Not by himself, anyway.)
By this time, she had become painfully familiar with Junichi's thought patterns. He was consumed by hatred, arrogant beyond belief... and not terribly bright.
: Actually, he could be considered a bit stupid.
(All this intricate planning... all these vicious games with Kenshin, Aoshi, and Saitoh... everything that's been going on. It's simply too well planned. Too sophisticated. Junichi's like a spoiled brat. If he wants something, he wants it NOW. After being forced to wait for thirteen years, there's no way he'd have the patience for all these schemes. So what's really going on!?)
At that moment, a hideous image sprang into Kaoru's mind.
....Junichi moving her body like a puppeteer....
....and in the shadows behind Junichi, someone -- or someTHING -- manipulating HIM....
And the true puppetmaster of this entire horror show was laughing.
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Misao had gained some valuable distance after escaping the gully, but the demon beasts chasing her were tireless. She was rapidly losing ground as exhaustion took its toll. Misao suddenly heard a distant scream... the scream of some horribly wounded animal. She instinctively turned to check behind her, and failed to notice the sudden change in the terrain. Without warning, she fell, rolling down a slight slope before crashing head-first into something big, solid, and hard.
She had managed not to cut herself on her tanto as she skidded and rolled downhill, but that was the only piece of good luck in the whole mess. When she tried to sit up, she very nearly passed out.
(Owww. Damn. Can't just lie here. Got to get up....)
As Misao whoozily pulled herself to her knees, she heard her pursuers rapidly approaching. With her back against a huge, vertical slab of stone, there was nowhere for her to go. To make matters worse, she was unarmed except for the tanto -- she had used all her kunai during the chase. Misao wiped the blood from her eyes, tightened her grip on the weapon, and braced herself for attack.
The pig-dogs were just cresting the top of the slope when a low ominous growl filled the air. The monsters skidded to an abrupt halt. Misao blinked in confusion as expressions of terror and panic contorted their bestial faces. They slowly began to back away, squealing and snuffling wildly.
Chills suddenly ran down her own spine as she heard the unmistakable howl of a wolf. And it came from somewhere very close.
The eerie, echoing cry was the last straw. Their morale utterly broken, her pursuers turned tail and fled for their lives.
Almost too afraid to look for herself, Misao glanced very, very slowly to her left and couldn't believe her eyes.
Less than ten feet away, on a rocky outcrop, stood a great wolf.
A HUGE wolf that glowed with a dark blue fire.
A wolf she could actually see THROUGH.
The last thing Misao remembered before she passed out was the gleam
of the wolf's cold amber eyes....
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In the mountains east of Kyoto, Hiko Seijuro stepped into a clearing littered with monster corpses. As he coolly looked around for clues, he abruptly stiffened as he heard a howl echoing among the mountains.
"Hmph. So the Hunter is back," he muttered.
Hiko turned as he detected several creatures clumsily crashing through the underbrush. They were obviously headed in his direction. He smiled to himself and murmured, "So it seems that there are some monsters left for me."
He calmly waited. Sure enough, within a minute or so, a horde of squat, brutish pig-like monsters burst into the open area. They were more interested in running away from the source of the howl than in attacking, but Hiko was not about to let a pack of demon creatures go roaming about at will.
Even in the dimly lit forest, the steel of his blade glittered. And when the flashes faded, there were fifteen more monster corpses strewn about the clearing and a man in a white cape leisurely sheathing his sword.
The contemptuous, raucous call of a raven shattered the quiet.
Hiko whirled around and glared up into a nearby tree. Even as he watched, the raven hopped down from a high tree branch. By the time it landed on the ground, the large bird had become an austere-looking woman dressed in a loose, black kimono.
"Risako." Hiko looked less than pleased by her presence.
She gave him an icy smile in return. "Hiko."
"What are you doing here?" he snapped irritably.
Her amber eyes narrowed at his tone. "That's really none of your business."
"It is when you go tramping through my neck of the woods."
"They're hardly YOUR woods. This is Father's territory and you well know it." She bared her teeth slightly as if daring him to challenge her statement.
Hiko shrugged carelessly. "He never seemed to mind my presence."
"Or maybe you're simply not worth his attention," she murmured, a malicious gleam in her eyes.
He snorted and said, "So what are you doing in Kyoto?"
She returned his careless shrug.
Hiko's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Don't try to tell me that you're finally taking an interest in Kenshin, not after abandoning him all those years ago."
Risako glared at him. "As I said, it's not your business."
"It is if it involves my student. After all, YOU deserted him."
She narrowed her eyes and growled, "I was not about to let Masaki's murderers go free!"
"So you dumped your newborn baby on some poor peasant family while you were off indulging in murder and mayhem."
"Don't sound so self-righteous, Hiko. You have no concept of my feelings on this matter. And while we're on the subject, what took YOU so long to find Kenshin?"
Hiko gave her a nasty look. "I was travelling during that time. I didn't even know Masaki left a son until I ran into a group of bandits who were about to kill a small, red-haired, violet-eyed boy." He shrugged, then added, "Maybe it's just as well you didn't raise Kenshin. I shudder to think what sort of mother you would've made."
Risako leaned forward and snapped, "As if YOU had any more experience in raising children?"
Hiko leaned forward himself and replied acidly, "I could hardly do a worse job than you. At least I taught him a sense of self-worth, which is more than you would have done. I know your general opinion of men all too well, Risako. The thing that really astonishes me is that you ever managed to put those feelings aside long enough to fall in love with my best friend and have his child."
"Leave my husband Masaki out of this," Risako said in an ominous voice.
Hiko gave her a chilly smile. "Make me."
The angry tension between the two was abruptly broken by the arrival of a small owl. It flashed between them and perched on Risako's shoulder. It hooted briefly before silently gliding away.
She flicked her long silky hair over her shoulders and said, "I don't have time to waste arguing with a fool like you, Hiko." With a graceful sweep of her long, black sleeves, Risako was gone and a large black raven winged its way back toward Kyoto.
Hiko watched her until she disappeared, then twitched his cloak back in place.
"Hmph. It's no wonder my idiot pupil can be so damn obstinate. It has to come from his mother's side."
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